Cadet Programs

MENTORING

WHAT IS MENTORING?

Mentoring is an essential ingredient in developingwell-rounded, professional, and competent future leaders.The goal of mentoring in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) CadetProgram is to help cadets reach their full potential, therebyenhancing the overall professionalism of CAP.

Mentor means a trusted counselor or guide, tutor, orcoach. Mentors are helpers.

Mentoring is a relationship in which a person withgreater experience and wisdom guides another person todevelop both personally and professionally. Mentoring isone of the broadest methods we have available today toencourage human growth and develop the talent pool fortoday’s and tomorrow’s CAP!

Mentoring is an informal relationship because it fostersfree communication by subordinates with superiorsconcerning their performance and duties, without fear ofreprisal. It enhances morale and discipline and improvesthe operational environment while maintaining respect forauthority.

CAP mentoring for cadets covers a wide range ofareas, such as helping a cadet understand the progressionsteps through the program, guiding the cadet in his or herunderstanding of aerospace education, and setting anexample of leadership. It also includes knowledge of thecadet program and an understanding of the Air Force’s corevalues of integrity first, service before self, and excellencein all we do.

The key to mentoring is the direct involvement of theunit commander in the development of his or her cadets.The commander must create an environment that continu-ously challenges the cadets to excel. The commander mustprovide opportunities for clear performance feedback andprovide guidance in helping the cadets to set realisticprofessional and personal goals.

WHAT DOES BEING A MENTOR INVOLVE?

Mentoring relationships can take several forms. Onerelationship might be highly structured with short-termgoals. Largely, this type of relationship is more formal withspecific organizational ends; for example, a new cadetbeing paired with a more senior cadet.

We also might see highly structured, long-termmentoring. This could include examples of senior membersinvesting a year or more with a cadet providing formaltraining and counsel.

Perhaps the relationship that will be most used in thecadet program is the informal, short-term mentoring, whichtends to be spontaneous, ranging from one-time help tohelp as needed, but usually with no real ongoing relation-ship. An example may be an aerospace education mentorgiving assistance as needed to a Phase I or Phase II cadet.

Finally, some mentoring takes the form of informal,long-term mentoring. This involves more of an as-neededhelping relationship, but over more time. These relation-ships might possibly last for several years or over a cadet’scareer. Typically, these are fostered through the friendshipsthat the cadets develop and carry with them for a number ofyears.

We probably have benefited from all of these types ofrelationships at some point in our lives. Mentoring canalmost be unconscious. Without even realizing it, a personmight say or do something that has a powerful effect onanother person. These powerful life experiences can be apotent force in developing cadets within our organization.

Today’s cadet program is becoming increasingly morecomplex, high tech and streamlined. Because of this, manycadets experience the need for understanding and informa-tion that are outside the channels of our normal trainingprograms. Mentors can help fill the gaps in a cadet’s abilityto rightly handle the problems they may face.

WHO SHOULD BE A MENTOR?

To be an effective mentor we must, at a minimum,have a heightened awareness or sensitivity to the needs ofothers, and be willing to pause and listen. Formalmentoring requires much more. It may mean inconven-iences, it may take our time away from other things, and itdefinitely will require commitment. We should carefullyevaluate whether this type of activity will cause significantstress or loss in other areas and whether we are emotionallyand psychologically prepared.

CIVIL AIR PATROL CAP PAMPHLET 52-6(E)National HeadquartersMaxwell AFB AL 36112-6332 15 April 1999

OPR: CPCDistribution: In accordance with CAPR 5-4; additional copies arepurchase item only.

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If the mentor’s resources and the cadet’s needs are lowor only require occasional help, then short-term mentoringmight be advisable. On the other hand, if the cadet’s needsare high and exceed the capabilities, time, or resources ofthe mentor, then referral to a more appropriate resource isnecessary.

This is a critical point: Once we determine that anindividual’s needs are beyond our capabilities or pose apotential risk to the safety of the cadet or others, theindividual must be referred. Individuals at risk for suicidalor homicidal behavior should be brought to the immediateattention of the commander.To be an effective

Finally, the cadet must also be a willing participant. Ifa capable mentor is trying to work with an unwilling cadet,or the needs of the cadet would overwhelm the mentor,mentoring is not advised.

APPROPRIATE MENTOR BEHAVIORS

1. Providing a Sense of Vision. It has been said thatpeople perish for lack of vision. Occasionally, we need helpseeing the big picture, along with goals and potentialpositive outcomes. Mentors can influence the behavior ofthe cadets in a positive way. If we build expectations forsuccess and positive outcomes, it is a powerful force inhelping the cadet to succeed.

Many people fail because of their own self-fulfillingprophecies of gloom and doom. Helping these individualsdevelop a concept of what success looks like, feels like, andtastes like often starts them on their way towards morepositive outcomes.

2. Active Listening. Listening (without assuming theirproblem, giving them advice, or joining them in self-pity)often helps people gain emotional relief and potentiallyhelps them to gain insight into their problem(s). This typeof listening involves feeding back to them what we heardthem say to clarify, understand, and provide opportunity forthem to gain insight. Often, just the activity of talkingthings through is all they need.

3. Tactful Confrontation. Along with empathy andrespect, confrontation is needed when we find it appropri-ate to challenge an attitude or behavior of a cadet. How wedo this can make a world of difference. Criticism may oftenbe viewed as an attack or threat. It tends to elicit retreat ordefensiveness and, occasionally, counterattack from others.As part of the active listening process, confrontation shouldbe done using “I” messages.

Try to remain in a neutral role. Restate what youthought you heard, along with potential consequences forthe person’s actions on him/herself or others, and thefeelings or emotions you might be having about theperson’s plans. We must confront and challenge thenegative behavior, not the person. For example:

CADET: “I’m going to tell the cadet commander toshove it! He can’t tell me what to do. I’m a volunteer!”

MENTOR: “ I hear the anger in your voice, John,and I’m concerned. That type of action could undermineyour relationship with the cadet commander and could becounterproductive to your cause.”

Once he or she is confronted, it is important to listen asthe cadet works through the feelings.

4. Providing Information. Many times all that the cadetneeds is information. Sharing this information when neededcan be productive. Control of information is often viewedas a power tactic, and fear of the unknown due to a lack ofinformation does create stress. Sharing accurate informa-tion regularly helps the cadet to get the big picture andgreatly aids in decreasing stress due to uncertainty.

5. Empowering. Often the very act of empowering acadet the delegating of authority or giving of permis-sion is a valid form of mentoring assistance. This sends avalidating type of message to the cadet that says, “I believein your ability to handle this situation.” In other words, toencourage the development of responsibility, we have togive it and all that goes with it, good and bad. This includesthe authority, as well as the consequences.

CAUTION: We should set our cadets up forsuccess, not failure. We must ensure they are appropriatelyequipped to handle a potential challenge before giving it tothem.

6. Encouraging. Encouragement is an art. If usedappropriately, it can be one of the most powerful forms ofmentor assistance. “Encourage” literally means to inspirewith courage or hope. A classic illustration of this comesfrom the Wizard of Oz. The cowardly lion’s famous line,“What do they got that I ain’t got? Courage!” was the basisfor the wizard’s miracle. He simply encouraged the lion torealize he had courage all along by awarding him a medalfor bravery and valor. All of us need encouragement, andwe certainly should practice it more with our cadets.

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INAPPROPRIATE MENTOR BEHAVIORS

1. Criticism. Criticism, even when it is offered as“friendly” or “constructive,” is seldom taken in a positiveway. It tends to be a form of judgmental behavior, whichthreatens self-esteem and often elicits defense mechanismson the part of the person receiving it. This being the case,no matter how we sugarcoat it, we are undercut by itseffect. Also, criticism tends to be interpreted by the onereceiving it as meaning he or she has failed or donesomething bad or wrong.

2. Giving advice. The problem with giving advice, ortelling someone what to do, is that we do not have to livewith the consequences of our advice. Giving advice isalmost always based on the supposition that we havesuperior knowledge, know what’s best, and have greatwisdom or magical insight into someone else’s problems.

This may be true when we are dealing with a technicalissue, but not with personal issues. With personal issues,we are much better off to engage in active listening. Listen,feed back what we thought we heard including the under-lying feelings or emotions to validate our understanding,and, if asked for, provide information or possible ideas thatcould help the person develop his or her own solution.

We should share, model, and teach, but not rescue ortake over a person’s problems, unless there is a crisisrequiring immediate action such as a suicidal threat. Ourcadets will grow more by learning problem-solving skillswith the mentor’s encouragement. But if the mentor doesthe work for the cadet, then helplessness is learned.

CAUTION: Many well-meaning people have beencaught in the trap of giving advice to someone who criesfor help in an effort to rescue that person. The advice giveroffers “why don’ t you…” advice and becomes frustratedwhen the person does not accept the advice, plays the “yes,but…” game, and continually offers excuses and rejects allother suggestions as well. Finall y, the advice giver becomesfrustrated and angry with the advice seeker and rejects andabandons him or her.

3. Rescuing. Some cadets may present themselves asvictims and seem to perpetuate repetitive patterns of

failure, inadequacy, and crisis. When a cadet shows thisbehavior, rescuing the cadet or attempting to take over hisor her problems wil l not be helpful in the long term.

Short-term crisis intervention as alluded to earlier isappropriate, but continual patterns of rescuing makes thementor part of the problem. Many refer to this as “ena-bling.” By taking over for a cadet, we “enable” the personto continue to be helpless and not responsible forhis/herself. This feeds the ideas, “Why should I worry,you’ ll do it for me,” or “Why should I help myself, you’ lltake care of it for me.” Again, this is not to minimize thelegitimate need a cadet has for temporary help. But whenthis tends to be a repetitive pattern and the mentor begins tofeel annoyed, anxious, suspicious, etc., these negativefeelings serve as a warning that something is amiss. It istime to disengage and refer the cadet for professional help.

HOW DO WE BEGIN?

Unit commanders are responsible for establishing amentoring partnership in their squadron. This partnershipis not a program! Indeed, it is better not to have amentoring partnership if there is no one willi ng to invest oftheir time and energies to help guide and tutor the cadets.However, the most common style of mentoring, informaland short-term, is relatively easy to initiate. Below aresome examples on establishing this type of mentoring.

1. The unit commander should begin with an awarenesssession with those that express interest in becoming amentor. The unit commander may call upon an experiencedadult, like the unit chaplain, to discuss this guide with thepotential mentors. This could be a group effort or one-on-one. The purpose of the awareness meeting is to discuss thepotential pitfalls and rewards of becoming a mentor.

CAP’s National Staff Chaplain has a free bookletentitled, The Gift of Mentoring, that may provide someadditional practical tips on growing the mentoring relation-ships along with an excellent bibliography.

2. The unit commander should appoint a mature cadet tomentor a cadet recruit [see CAPR 52-16, Cadet ProgramManagement, 2-2.a.(1)]. This authority may be delegated.The commander should allow as many cadets as possible toassist in this mentoring. The purpose here is to provide thecadet recruit with a person close to his or her own age that

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would be available to answer any questions and to guidethe recruit towards membership.

The mentor would assist the cadet recruit in under-standing the program materials and our organization. Thisrelationship should last longer than just one meeting;otherwise, this relationship is more like a “sponsor.” Thementor, in this example, will need to guide the cadet recruitthrough the initial stages of membership and should helpthe new cadet prepare for Phase I of the cadet program.

3. The unit commander should identify senior members,cadet sponsor members, and Phase III or Phase IV cadets toserve as aerospace education mentors [see CAPR 52-16, 1-3.d.(2)]. This authority may be delegated. The purpose hereis to guide the cadets towards mastery of the aerospaceeducation texts. This relationship should last longer thanjust one AE achievement; otherwise, this relationship ismore like a “substitute teacher.”

The tutoring relationship should last for as long as thecadet takes to complete Phase I (about 6 months to 1 year)and/or Phase II (another 10 months to 2 years) of the cadetprogram. Mentoring the cadets, in this example, may beaccomplished through a variety of methods, to include:

a. The mentor works with the cadet one-on-one inreviewing the AE chapter before the cadet tests.

b. The mentor works with the cadet to go over textsections of the questions missed on the AE achievementexam. The mentor will not have access to the test oranswers. Rather, the testing officer will give the cadet thecorresponding AE section areas of the questions missed.These section areas are listed next to the question answeron the answer key. The cadet should then work with thementor on the section area(s) that needs review prior to thecadet re-testing to obtain the 100% score.

REMINDER: Cadets currently working towardscompletion of Achievement 8 through completion of theEarhart Award must satisfactorily serve as an aerospaceeducation mentor.

4. The unit commander should appoint senior membersserving in functional staff positions (like administrativeofficer, public affairs officer, aerospace education officer,etc.) to also act as mentors to the cadet officers studyingthese staff positions as part of their Staff Duty Analysis(SDA) requirements [see CAPR 52-16, 1-3.c.(4)]. Thecadets studying their SDA should learn from their seniormember counterparts the duties of the staff positions asthey work together. This relationship should last for as longas the cadet is performing the job function or is activelyreviewing the job area as part of the SDA requirements;otherwise, the relationship is simply “on-the-job training.”

Mentoring, in this example, involves a real desire to helpthe cadet master the position.

The successful mentor will have a good grasp ofCAP’s norms, values, and procedures. This knowledge ishelpful in guiding the cadet in meeting his or her objec-tives. But, there are also personal characteristics thatcontribute to being an effective mentor:

v Listen.v Maintain confidentiality.v Value the cadet as a person.v Provide constructive feedback,v Focus on the cadet’s needs.v Help the cadet solve the problem forhim/herself.

As a result of being under the tutoring of a goodmentor, the cadet will be better able to

v grasp the materials of the cadet program,v assume greater responsibility,v be receptive to constructive feedback,v make better decisions, andv become a mentor to others.

CONCLUSION

When done appropriately, mentoring can be a positiveexperience for the mentor and cadet alike, and it makes asignificant contribution toward the development of ourmost potent resource, our cadets. Leaders must have thevision to develop the mentoring relationships that willsucceed.

Adapted from:AETC Pamphlet 44-103, Mentoring for Supervisors (1 Nov 95)AF Policy Directive 36-34, Air Force Mentoring Program (1 Nov 96)AF Instruction 36-3401, Air Force Mentoring (1 Jul 97)USAF Chaplain Service Institute, Resource Division, The Gift ofMentoring (no date)